A combine ride to remember

Last week, I attended the Farm Science Review, a ritual here at the Farm and Dairy. It is always three days of what’s new in ag, what tractor and combine manufacturers are coming up with to entice farmers, and hearing about the latest issues in the farm world.

My favorite part of the event is, and always will be, the field demonstrations. I don’t know if it is the excitement anyone riding on the wagons out to the demonstration can feel, or if it’s the shiny equipment that fills the fields.

It is a great joy to this ag reporter to watch the faces on people along the ropes and to hear their comments after the machines shut down and they get to walk out to them to see the latest gadgets.

I’m not going to lie, this year, the fields were wet. Between Sept. 20 and Sept. 21, the showgrounds received over an 1 1/2 inches in rainfall. This created a muddy mess on Wednesday, but luckily by Thursday, it was drying out.

The wet fields didn’t stop the combines from running, but did provide issues for the tillage demonstrations. It didn’t stop them from running, but definitely slowed them down.

This year was one for the record books for me, though. I got to do something I had been wanting to do: I had the opportunity to ride in one of those brand new combines in the field.

I rode in the CR9065 New Holland combine. It had a monitor inside the cab and a window that allowed you to see how full the holding tank is as you harvest. It didn’t take long to see the tank fill with the golden nuggets of corn.

Unfortunately, the soybeans on the grounds of the Farm Science Review was not ready because of the late planting due to the wet spring, so I missed that experience. However, I did enjoy the ride in the combine with the New Holland demonstration team. I owe them a big thank you!

Here’s a video of what it was like in the cab of the combine.

To catch a ride in the combine, click here:

Kristy Foster Seachrist lives in Columbiana County raising sheep and horses with her husband, Kurt. She earned her degree from Youngstown State University and has worked in both print and broadcast journalism.